WUNRN
CSW 58 Oral Statement on Behalf of the Millions of Widows
Around the World, All Ages, for Advocacy of Widows’ Rights, Issues, Justice
By Widows for Peace through Democray, Women for Human Rights
Single Women’s Group, and the Collaboration of Multiple Widows’ NGO’s
We are the umbrella organisation for many widows’ NGOs
and associations in developing and conflict-afflicted countries. We work for
the empowerment of widows and the elimination of the discrimination and
violence that many millions of them experience daily. Widows’ voices are rarely heard. They are not
even counted.
We speak on behalf of millions of widows of all ages.
Their numbers, in recent decades, have grown exponentially due to armed
conflicts, revolutions, sectarian violence, HIV and AIDS, and the continuation
of harmful traditional practices such as child marriage. It is estimated that,
in some war-afflicted countries, over 60% of all women are widows or wives of
missing men, and 70% of children are dependent on such destitute women.
In spite of the fact that widowhood is one of the root
causes of poverty, and the most neglected of all gender and human rights
issues, existing MDG strategies have failed to address the causes and
consequences of the low status of widows. The violation of their fundamental
rights impacts disastrously on future generations.
It is essential that governments and the international
community now focus on the particular situation of widows, and support their
efforts to “band together”, so that their collective voice can be heard.
Widows’ needs have to be considered if the post 2015 MDG goals have any chance
of being achieved.
The poverty, marginalisation, and stigma of widowhood
causes irrevocable damage to children, especially girls. One of the commonest
“coping strategies” of impoverished widows is to withdraw their children from
school. Daughters are the first to suffer. They are then more vulnerable to
child labour, forced marriage and the potential control of traffickers.
Widows themselves, often illiterate, are unable to
access justice systems. Their lives are determined by discriminatory
interpretations of religions and customs, and they are constantly denied
inheritance and land rights. Begging, or near slavery in domestic, agricultural
and sex work are an inherent part of their condition.
Widows, wives of the “disappeared” and their
dependents dominate in refugee and IDP populations. They are often the last to
be resettled due to a lack of rights to inheritance and land ownership. This
absence of property rights, alongside the high incidence of “chasing-off” and
“property-grabbing” in many countries must be addressed in the post 2015 MDG
frameworks for implementation. We
therefore welcome reference to these issues in the Draft Agreed Conclusions. We
also request all governments to agree to the Stand-Alone Goal on Gender
Equality and ask that the blanket of invisibility is lifted from issues of
widowhood, and that disaggregated data on “marital status” be added to the
usual categories.
WIDOWS should not be seen as passive victims of
gender-based violence, but recognised for their vital roles as sole carers of
families, key contributors to economies, agents of change, particularly in
conflict resolution and peace building situations.
We would like to see Member States supporting UN WOMEN
to establish a special desk concentrating on widowhood issues, and for the UN
Secretary-General to appoint a UN Special Representative on Widowhood.
We suggest that “Widowhood” should be the subject of
the “Emerging Issue” for the 60th CSW in 2016